PENS 2021 Season!!
- Thread starter WVRON
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if this was only the last 6 games, you could say this is a slow start. But he coasted through the playoffs too.
No, but I do know that Poulin was traded from Sherbrooke to Legare's team, Val-d'Or........this isn't in his area of the world, but perhaps t will hear/read about this deal and provide some north of the border perspective.
I took a couple minutes to dial-up the QMJHL website, and see that Sherbrooke is currently last in an 18 team League with only 1 win.......though they've only played 6 games (versus most other teams having played twice than many). Guess I"m assuming this is COVID-related; but maybe the team is viewed locally to need a shake-up, and Poulin is/was the target. Looks like Val'd'Or traded three Draft picks (a #1 and #3 in 2021, and a #2 in 2023).
BTW, Val'd'Or is currently in 3rd place in the Q even though they have the most points. It appears the League goes by points percentage rather than actual points; the 1st place team (Blainville-Boisbriand) has a .900 percentage (9 wins in 10 games). Val-d'Or has 26 points, but in 17 games; a .765 percentage,
Hasn't that been going on for years? I thought his wife used to stay in Russia. She apparently hates Pittsburgh. Geno has 1 year left on his contract, doubt there are many takers for a 34 center making $9 million.
sure has. just gets amplified when he's playing poorly and right now is as bad as it gets for him.
Pretty sure I myself made a post at least a year or so back about Geno's wife (which i can't find now)......who I think is a Muscovite......and who, for that reason alone, was never a fan of a small town like Pittsburgh. I myself suspected at the time she would be a (or the) key factor if Geno ever decided to push for a trade.......and which I thought would be to either NY or, more likely, Florida.
I suspect she's "marooned" at what I assume is their home in Florida.....as he is in Pittsburgh.......and I also assume COVID rules make it impossible for them to just jump on a plane as they've done in the past and go see one another on a moment's notice. As an uber-sociable/high-profile Russian media star, she fits the profile of someone who'd be kicking the shit out of Geno to get out of Pittsburgh, especially when he's probably in a shitty mood to begin with.
Solid effort, and Geno played better. Have to get a shot on net on the 3-0 in overtime. Hopefully Dumoulin's injury isn't significant. He'd be the 5th defenseman out in just 2 weeks.
All I saw was the shorthander when NHLN had cut to the game before their scheduled telecast. Rat made a decent play, but Letang played him like he had COVID flowing from his friggin nose.
But yeah, that 3 on 0 "play" was pretty depressing.....and from what I understand, Malkin was still pretty lousy until turning things around midway through the 3rd. The post-game reports seemed to indicate that Zucker is finally beginning to come around, and it was nice to see KK get some puck luck when he scored on something less than a solid shot.
As for the defensive injuries.....
All I saw was the shorthander when NHLN had cut to the game before their scheduled telecast. Rat made a decent play, but Letang played him like he had COVID flowing from his friggin nose.
But yeah, that 3 on 0 "play" was pretty depressing.....and from what I understand, Malkin was still pretty lousy until turning things around midway through the 3rd. The post-game reports seemed to indicate that Zucker is finally beginning to come around, and it was nice to see KK get some puck luck when he scored on something less than a solid shot.
As for the defensive injuries.....
zucker scored while rask was trying to buy a whistle from an injury.
This is becoming a disaster. Seen some speculation on twitter that Marino maybe hurt. I know he got dinged at the end of regulation, but he played in overtime.
I'm personally guessing that Rutherford got some bad news from his doctor this morning........
Changing the subject from Rutherford for just a minute; note the following current rankings (out of 60) of some goaltenders fairly familiar to we Guins' fans:
- 31-Casey DeSmith (2-2-0) 2.76 GAA .871
- 40-Carey Price (2-0-2) 3.11 GAA .893
- 46-Sergei Bobrovsky (2-2-0) 3.35 GAA .879
- 51-Braden Holtby (4-2-2-0) 3.70 GAA .888
- 53-Tristan Jarry (2-2-1) 3.91 GAA .868
- 56-Carter Hart (2-2-1) 4.18 GAA .880
- 58-Matt Murray (1-3-1) 4.47 GAA .868
Ya hopefully not... apparently it was said from JR that it was nothing medical in nature but, I guess who knows what to believe. I wish him well health wise and thank him greatly for the Cups.
But I am excited to see a change.... his recent dealings have left me rather disappointed to say the least. New GM gonna have a real heckuva time trying to either fix it time being or have hope in the prospect tunnel for future. A few of these contacts are just dreadful....
Something is definitely up .... goals obviously in this case, but imo, the majority if not all of these guys aren't terrible goaltenders
I absolutely agree.......not sure how all those teams are playing (though the Habs, Cryers, and Pens all have decent records) but its hard to believe all these guys are playing so relatively poorly. FWIW, I believe Murray gave up 7 to the Canucks the other night.......and I believe I saw Hart do a Ron Hextall-impression to his cage over the weekend.
Dave Morehouse saying that health is not a factor in this resignation......which I'm not sure I believe. If not, the only other thing I can think that might cause him to resign this suddently is some kind of family problem.
Anyway, I believe it was Pierre LeBrun who recently reported that Tom Fitzgerald (of the Devils) could be in the mix for a job like this......I remember wondering at the time why he was talking about that. Maybe he knew something nobody else did (or could talk about).
Anyway, I believe it was Pierre LeBrun who recently reported that Tom Fitzgerald (of the Devils) could be in the mix for a job like this......I remember wondering at the time why he was talking about that. Maybe he knew something nobody else did (or could talk about).
Back to these less than stellar numbers for a second...
I peg Jarry at just above .900 with the D in front of him, Murray just sub .900 on a very young team, Bobs I feel just wants to be on the beach and soak up the money so not overly surprised. The one that shocks me a bit is Hart , not that I'm overly disappointed obviously, but he does have a very solid D corps in front of him....
Holtby, new team to familiarize with, seeing as he can handle the puck a bit? DeSmith a backup , always will be backup imo. Price? Can get off to a slow start, but meh, he should be better....
Val'd'Or is going all in.... that's a hefty tag to pay in a Covid year for a guy with what I believe is one year left. BTW Q is playing as you obviously see and the O (and W) on the other hand are not (its entirely regulation based with the different provinces) .... Which leads me to further question this deal... yes you want to win your own league, and they certainly have a shot at that. However, the ultimate goal is the Memorial Cup, and to my eyes it doesn't appear there will be much of one this time around the sun....at least not one too worthwhile anyway.
Kingerski using Botterill and Fitzgerald's names this afternoon as possible replacements.
I myself don't believe that Allvin will be considered for the full time job......that is, unless they decide to move ahead on the cheap (which could make sense, since the team doesn't have much in the way of available resources to trade, or else rebuild).
Kingerski also made a fairly big deal this afternoon about Mario supposedly being available as "backup" for anything Allvin might do. If Mario indeed has been as active in the recent trade activity as I'm convinced he's been, then it's business as usual for him.
Finally, theories are evidently floating around the local media that the resignation could have stemmed from JR being pissed he wasn't allowed to "trade a star", or being pissed he couldn't "trade prospects". However, Kingerski said there's no evidence of any hard-ons around the offices.
He also said if ownership were "in the habit of nixing trades", Hornqvist might still be with the team.
I had no idea the Q was the only MJ in business this season.......hey t, do you have any idea which teams are generally considered the "elites" of the Q ?? I guess I've always figured Quebec and Halifax to be at the top, but what the hell do I know down here on the friggin Ohio River......
Also, is Val-D'Or (or Sherbrooke, for that matter) typically a good team, or are they one of those up and down organizations ??
IMO it is the most well balanced league in the CHL, far moreso than the O that's for certain....the favourites change quite often. At least I'd say since once perennial powerhouse Hull took a nosedive back in the early 2000's from what I remember. I wish the O had as much parody/competition... I'm not sure how this happens either whether there is a different set of parameters teams need to go by, luck or what....actually something for me to research into I believe!
FWIW I would happily take Botterill back.... he knows 'our' complete system, I personally believe he had a helluva lot to do with some of the early GMJR dealings and the growth of the minors at that stage and was given a raw deal by that asshat Pugula in Buffalo.... so there that is....
And in thinking on Botterill....would he have an 'out' clause with Seattle if a Head GM position became available? Usually there is some form of agreement that way, but as an expansion...not sure....
From what I can tell.....and I could be wrong about this.....if the Pens decided to move on Botterill, they'd do so by taking advantage of Ronnie Francis' long time relationship with Mario/the team and expect that the Kraken wouldn't push back. Additionally, this would be a step-up/promotion for Botterill; and as you stated, it's quite clear than NHL teams typically don't deny individuals the chance to pursue such opportunities.
I myself think the bigger question right now is what kind of opportunity is currently available in Pittsburgh ?? For a GM candidate, it's really fairly shitty; it's hard to imagine that anyone decent would accept it without a ton of conditions surrounding this insistence that rebuilding isn't in the current plans. Assuming this team is far more likely to continue underachieving than overachieiving.....and with so few remaining financial and trade resources......I myself wouldn't go near a proposed deal with Mario without identifying some serious downside protection ahead of time.
Meanwhile, DK is reporting this morning that this entire thing has been predicated on the team's apparent unwillingness to extend JR (his deal evidently expires in June). If so, that implies he finally drew a line in the sand, and the team just showed him the door. This seems to be confirmed given the apparent fact that JR did not retire.
This would also imply that JR has been doing all his wheeling and dealing without Mario's input......or at least very much of it.......which I myself obviously find hard to believe.
Yohe and Rossi wrote this morning in the Athletic that the decision "stunned" everybody, including Mario. They claim that JR resigned before the B's game on Tuesday night, but that Dave Morehouse thought he might change his mind by yesterday morning.....which he did not do.
Regarding some of the recent ancillary issues, they commented that JR did not want to can Jason Karamanos.....may not have been onboard with all the coaching changes......nor onboard with the Dale Tallon rumors. JR supposedly claimed (in one manner or another) that the lawsuit involving the Clark Donatelli/Jason Skalde's wife incident was not part of this, and they're saying claims his contract status issue (on which DK focused in his piece this morning) was at play weren't accurate.
There was some talk in the piece (actually, in the comments from readers) that JR was rumored (on Pittsburgh sports talk radio) to have been working on a Letang trade with one of his approved teams, but that ownership shut it down.......which theoretically may have led to the resignation. I'd suggest you decide yourself if you consider that to be a plausible explanation; I myself do not.
About the only thing that seems thus far to be a (somewhat) common thread amongst all the speculators is that the decision may have ultimately been driven by issue(s) specifically between JR and Morehouse.
Regarding some of the recent ancillary issues, they commented that JR did not want to can Jason Karamanos.....may not have been onboard with all the coaching changes......nor onboard with the Dale Tallon rumors. JR supposedly claimed (in one manner or another) that the lawsuit involving the Clark Donatelli/Jason Skalde's wife incident was not part of this, and they're saying claims his contract status issue (on which DK focused in his piece this morning) was at play weren't accurate.
There was some talk in the piece (actually, in the comments from readers) that JR was rumored (on Pittsburgh sports talk radio) to have been working on a Letang trade with one of his approved teams, but that ownership shut it down.......which theoretically may have led to the resignation. I'd suggest you decide yourself if you consider that to be a plausible explanation; I myself do not.
About the only thing that seems thus far to be a (somewhat) common thread amongst all the speculators is that the decision may have ultimately been driven by issue(s) specifically between JR and Morehouse.
they'll resign him just to sell tickets to teenage girls.
Lots of stuff coming out of the woodwork here, unfounded or not....and likely more to come. Interesting.
You know my take, just happy to see him move along at this point, and (hopefully) no more desperation moves for washed up vets, or albatross contracts.
I was looking down the list at a few of them last night and almost cried lol.... Matheson being the biggest. Some of us can't wait to jettison Tanger at this point or have always wanted to? Just wait till we get a good year or 2 of Matheson under our belts... Kris will seem like mild indigestion compared to a what'll likely be a blazing ulcer....
Paul Steigerwald was on Boomer Gordon's NHLN show this afternoon, and said something on which I was totally unaware.......that not only was JR not in Pittsburgh (or Boston) yesterday, he'd been spending the entire pandemic at home in North Carolina. Not only didn't I know that about yesterday, I didn't realize he never moved to Pittsburgh. Perhaps that's common knowledge for locals (or better fans than yours truly), but I myself was shocked at to hear it.
Steigy made a comment he admitted was just a theory; as the so-called "hired gun" when brought in as Ray Shero's replacement (for a team with the basic framework already in place), he could see the Jerks bringing him back to play that same role for a young team currently thinking seriously about a Cup run.
Also, sounds like his current choice for JR's replacement would be Ron Hextall; likes his background as a talent/franchise builder (which the team will obviously need sooner rather than later), and feels he'll bring in more sandpaper than the team has currently (or has had in the past).
Steigy made a comment he admitted was just a theory; as the so-called "hired gun" when brought in as Ray Shero's replacement (for a team with the basic framework already in place), he could see the Jerks bringing him back to play that same role for a young team currently thinking seriously about a Cup run.
Also, sounds like his current choice for JR's replacement would be Ron Hextall; likes his background as a talent/franchise builder (which the team will obviously need sooner rather than later), and feels he'll bring in more sandpaper than the team has currently (or has had in the past).
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